Tika the Iggy
She dazzles on the runway at Paris Fashion Week, collabs with Dior and has caught the fancy of superstars from Lizzo to Brooke Shields to Diane Keaton. But among the roles viral sensation Tika the Iggy takes most seriously is that of self-proclaimed gay icon, as does her account’s manager Thomas Shapiro, aka “Second Favorite Dad” (if you know, you know).
The Montreal-based Italian greyhound with a flair for fashion and a knack for sass hit the big time on social media several years ago. What came along with her were Shapiro and her other dad, who recently celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary, and a family that now also includes two human siblings and a puppy sister named Kala. And something even weightier than a tiered couture gown—the opportunity to advocate for the queer community.
“Having this exuberance and amazing opus kind of put Tika up into that category. And of course having two dads solidifies being part of the whole LGBTQ+ community, so her fans jokingly dubbed her as a gay icon and we thought, ‘Let’s go with it.’ But we do make sure we walk the walk and not just talk the talk. We’ve been working with Rainbow Railroad for the past three to four years and we’ve raised over $20,000 for them,” Shapiro says of the Canadian organization that helps members of the community escape violence and persecution.
“We’ve gotten many, many messages from parents who say, ‘My kid saw that I love Tika and her dads, which made them feel comfortable to come out to me or confide in me a bit more of their experience.’ Because they know if you like Tika and her two dads, you’re probably going to be open to your kids being who they really are,” he says. “That’s been really heartwarming to see and getting messages like that never gets old.”
Shapiro says just being visible as a family—members of the crew make frequent appearances on Tika’s TikTik and Instagram posts—goes a long way toward breaking stigma.
“To me it’s totally normal. My family has fully accepted it, my husband’s family has accepted it, our friends... Everything in our bubble is very normalized but I realize a lot of people who might be watching from the outside don’t see that as normal. So showing our life in itself has been a big statement,” he says.
“I know I would’ve loved to have something like this as a kid, to see two guys raising their family with lots of love and all the people who support that. That would’ve been huge for me back when I was a teen. I know there are a lot of people who look up to us, and a lot of parents that can use us as an example to be a little more open-minded and have those discussions with their kids or be open to hearing these discussions from their kids.
Tika and her family
“And with all that’s going on, especially in the States right now but in other countries throughout Europe and even parts of Canada, that kind of support is more important than ever and the conversations need to be had,” he adds. “A lot of these people who are against our community don’t necessarily know anyone in the community, and I think hearing real stories can open eyes and soften hearts a bit.”
On the other side of the coin negative feedback has been on the rise as Tika’s star continues to ascend.
“I think the algorithm tends to push our videos that do well, which is good in a sense. But then they always end up on what I call the wrong side of TikTok or the wrong side of Instagram,” Shapiro says.
“There was one video I posted celebrating my son’s second birthday and it’s a really cute montage of Tika and Harrison throughout the two years and at the end they’re both wearing rainbow striped shirts. I didn’t say anything about Pride. I didn’t say anything about gay parents, and I got lots of negative feedback saying a kid should not be wearing rainbows, and the dog doesn’t know what’s going on so we shouldn’t put the rainbow symbol on her.”
Whereas Shapiro has been known to make light of detractors on Tika’s Instagram stories in the past, “lately, I’ve been very heavy on the block button. I just have to block and delete because it’s even too much to share on Tika’s stories and I don’t want that negative stuff in my headspace. Those users probably wouldn’t come back and just happened to see it on their home page and dashed off a comment and went on with their life. But if you have enough time and energy to leave a negative comment on a stranger’s post, I don’t need you to be able to come back and do that,” he says.
“It’s one thing to get different stances from people who are open to [conversation] but with a lot of these people it’s not even worth having a conversation, especially on video chat. They’ve have already made up their mind.”
Also of note… While Tika has had more sponsored partnerships than ever this year, Shapiro says the account so far is only collaborating on one Pride-themed campaign, compared to five last year.
“We’re working with more brands this year so far, but a lot of brands are hesitant to work with queer and LGBTQ creators,” he says. “I think a lot of companies are scared of the backlash and are just staying silent. Which is of course what we don’t need right now.”
Do brands ever reach out about for pointers on how they might support the queer community? “Nope,” Shapiro says. “I’d love it if they did but usually once brands reach out they have already had that discussion internally and they’re ready to move on to the next step. And brands who could use that kind of conversation probably won’t reach out because they don’t realize they should be having it.”
Mind Reading (formerly Hollywood & Mind) is a recurring column that lives at the intersection of entertainment and wellbeing, and features interviews with musicians, actors and other culture influencers who are elevating the conversation around mental health.
